How Startup Businesses In Nigeria Can Manage Staff That Work From Home

There are so many startups in Nigeria that will be better off having staff that work remotely but the fear that such arrangements could be less effective because of the idea that “what you see is what you get” is the best way to manage staff. This idea suggests that it is the staff you see every day that you can demand work input that would yield the desired result that employers want for their business.

On the contrary, it is possible to run a business with staff that work remotely in any part of Nigeria. The idea behind this is to give staff more flexibility with time in order to get more result than what sitting down in a structured office for eight hours a day could yield. This implies that with such work flexibility, you could get employees to deliver more on results rather than just coming to mark attendance in the office. Note that it is possible for a person to resume for work 8 a.m. sharp and leave 5 p.m. sharp without achieving anything for that day.

Bear in mind that every structure you decide to create for your business comes with its own peculiar challenges. So should you want to consider having some or most of your staff work remotely, these are the things to consider…

Have a very clear vision and mission statement. It must be crystal clear to anyone that picks it up to read. This would be the guideline they would follow for every action they decide to take within the jurisdiction of their job role.

Hire people who don’t need to be monitored before they do their job. Not everyone can work independently while some work better when you are not always floating in the air around them. Those are the kind of people you should hire. People that will pick up the vision you have clearly written or the mission statement and run ahead with it like in a marathon race.

Put up necessary workable environment in place. The fact that all members of your team do not meet every day in a physical location doesn’t mean that they cannot meet every day in an online location. Set up an easy workable environment with work rules and regulations everyone must abide by. It could be as simple as requesting everyone to send in daily task by 6 a.m. and send in daily report by 9 p.m. You could create a template that they would use for both. You could also make it mandatory to have meeting via Skype as a team once or twice a week at a certain time. Just think about the kind of structure that would be most beneficial to the business in order to keep staff well-grounded even when they are working remotely.

Communication and collaboration is key even while working remotely. Communication from top management to staff and from staff to top management. Using email might be a little rigid. You can make use of communication tools like Telegram, WhatsApp group, Slack, Tello, Flowdock, Podio, Asana, Flock, Yammer, GoToMeeting and so on.

READ: How To Run A Startup Business In Nigeria Without An Office Space

Build team chemistry. After a long quarter or half year or a full year of hard work and working remotely, organize a get together for everyone in the team. Try to find a location for the meet up that is central to everyone. It should be a time to get to know each other better and what they do in the company. It should also be a time to reflect as a team about the vision of the company and how to move it forward. Do not underestimate the power of team chemistry.

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